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Peeling Off the Band-Aid

Updated Jan. 28, 1999 12:01 a.m. ET

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad created a frisson of hope this week when he told a group of foreign fund managers that that he was considering easing some capital controls imposed last September. According to an account of the meeting issued by the National Economic Action Council, Dr. Mahathir said that while the controls have been a success, Malaysia did not want to cut itself off from foreign capital, and so might make "certain adjustments" to the currency control regime in place now. For instance, Malaysia might replace the current mandatory 12-month waiting period between investment and repatriation...